


driven

by shouyoto



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Developing Relationship, Driving Lessons, Eventual Smut, Instructor Kageyama Tobio, M/M, Slow Burn, Thirsty Hinata Shouyou, thirst at first sight
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-06-27 09:14:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15682422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shouyoto/pseuds/shouyoto
Summary: — “I can’t help it,stupid,”Hinata retorts. “I’m nervous!”“You’re literally just going to move the car back and forth!”“You try doing it then!”Kageyama snaps his head to the side and growls. “I have done it, you stupid dumbass, I’m adriving instructorfor god’s sake, so put on your seat belt, turn the key, and step on the clutch already before I change my mind and throw you out!”...Hinata is an adult who finally gets to have his driving lessons. He meets a couple of bumps, too, along the way.





	1. mister hot grumpy instructor

**Author's Note:**

> **PLEASE READ!!!**
> 
>  
> 
> this is a relief writing fic, in other words, a fic for me to just have a general good time without fretting much over my writing, so BEWARE!! i was actually working on another kghn fic but i have been stressing over my writing in that fic too much so... here i am. this had been so much fun for me to write, and i hope you guys would have as much fun reading as i did too!!!

Hinata sits in a quiet cafeteria, breathing in the wafting smell of fresh coffee as he listens to the hums of an aircon whirring.

There’s a hot drink in one hand, a phone in another to help flush out his anxiety as he mindlessly scrolls through the tabs. However, it fails, quite _spectacularly_ might he add, when it intensifies instead, to the point where he has to put his phone down onto the table in favor of digging his nails into his lap just so he would _stop_ shaking.

But, it’s not like he could help it even if he tries. After trying to picture himself in a car, driving on a road for the _first_ time that’s today– yes, for the _first time_. Despite being an adult, it’s only recently he’s started taking his driving lesson, something he first feels ashamed about, but is relieved when he later learns that he isn’t the only one– he’d been boiling with anxiousness.

He blames it on the nature of his wandering thoughts. Ones, like… _Like,_ what if he accidentally strays off the road? What if he ends up ramming the car over a person, into a tree or into a building, maybe even accidentally setting an explosion? What if his driving instructor also turns out to be a demon, and they decide to murder him right there and then in the middle of the road after he makes a mistake— _no,_ Hinata vehemently shakes his head.  _No bad thoughts_ , he scolds himself.

He doesn’t know who his driving instructor is yet. But, what he does know about them is that, much to his relief, it’s not the same scary teacher, Nakamichi, he had for his past classes on driving laws. And for the ones up ahead, he pictures an old woman; kind, gray-haired, and perhaps, easy to be pleased which he’d try his best to make use of the trait, and oh! She’d be incredibly patient as well—

A sudden tap on Hinata’s shoulder from behind sends him nearly jumping out of his skin, snapping him out of his reverie. When he shifts his head to look though, he almost squeezes the coffee in hand out of its cup, and chokes in his mind, as he meets eyes with a man who looks impossibly, spectacularly and _fuckably_ gorgeous.

However, even the word ‘gorgeous’ is still an understatement, falling too short of a stick that he’s trying to grasp for.

This man, he’s a breathing masterpiece. He’s a statue sculpted to life with veins and warmth running underneath his toned muscles, his dark hair tapered down to the high bridge of his nose and eyes a color of deep blue. This man could walk through an enormous museum filled of treasures, riches, rarities, but they’d all lay beneath his feet as he rules over them with a flick of wrist.

Which is— well, okay, that might have been a little bit too melodramatic.

But then, when the man tilts his head back a little, enough to expose the column of his throat, Hinata is quick to do a rebound and take a complete stand by his words.

The man seems to be around his age, and it's very true that he  _is_ good-looking indeed. Although, with a little make-do on the scowl there, then a massage on the deep pinch between his brows here, he could look charming by a tenfold that he might even attract a TV recruitment crew, too.

And so, Hinata sits there, ready to indulge in his sudden feast of fantasies where he’s already kissing and marrying the hell out of the guy he’s met within fifteen seconds of his life when he notices a look of irritation settling into the man’s face.

Suddenly, he remembers the earth-shattering reality, the real hell he’s in– where he is, about his manners, how he’s _just_ met this guy– then in his panic, he fully turns around to face the man with an unattractive squeak.

“Y-yes! What do you need?” He asks, craning his head to look up at him. _Oh god. He's tall._

“I was asking,” The guy starts, and _oh god, even his voice is super hot._ “If you are Hinata Shouyou?”

And if it isn’t for the confusion that this guy– this really, _really_ hot, grumpy guy– somehow knows his name, Hinata would have fawned (or even praise to the heavens above) at the smooth slip of his name rolling off of his tongue.

“I… am?” He says, unsure what to make out of this new information.

At the sound of his uncertainty, Mister Hot Grumpy Pants lifts an eyebrow.

“I am!” Hinata yells in reaffirmation, and maybe a little _too_ loud that his cheeks starts to burn from embarrassment. “And...? you must be...”

“Kageyama Tobio.” The man answers, moving to sit on the bench opposite of him where there’s an empty space and places a book down onto the table. “I’ll be your driving instructor for your practical driving classes.”

 _Oh,_ Hinata thinks.

Then after a long pause, there comes an another, but an audibly muttered, distressed filled _“Oh.”_ as a bucket of ice cold realization dumps over him that this Mister Hottie, Kageyama, is going to be his driving instructor for all of his classes ahead.

And of course, Hinata’s constantly wandering mind has to think about how he’d probably– no, wait, cross that ‘probably’ out– he’s _definitely_ going to get super distracted in his classes. He could see himself already, eyes always straying to those muscly arms that he ends up running over a sign post and fail in all of his driving classes.

So, yeah. Hinata had at first been pretty sure that he’s going to pass his driving lessons and get a license. But now? He’s not even sure he’s going to survive any of this.

“— are you available?” He’s zoning back into his surroundings when he hears Kageyama asks this. The question and its implication catches Hinata too off guard that he nearly gets a whiplash from the jerk of his head to look up at him.

“Uh,” Hinata gulps, slowly, and blinks a few times. “I’m sorry?”

Kageyama sighs, and the plain look of irritation comes across his face again that Hinata feels a little bad. Just a little. Not his fault that he’s been distracted by how hot the man is.

“Your schedule.” He huffs, “When are you usually available?”

“Oh!” Hinata sheepishly rubs at the back of his head, and nope, that’s definitely not _disappointment_ settling into his chest when he now knows what Kageyama means. “I’m free, for like, every day. Well, for now, that is! I’m- still, well, looking for a job. But...” But it’s been _hard_ , he’d add, considering he needs to have his own transport, especially for the ones he’s interested in. He doesn’t add that though, choosing to bite on the inside of his cheek instead.

Kageyama only gives him an acknowledging hum. He flips open his book to a page and scribbles something on it. Hinata hast to sit there for the entirety of thirty-two seconds of hell as he tries not to ogle over Kageyama’s attractiveness but, how can he _not_ when he’s there in plain sight, just a few inches away with a table in between them. Faintly, he wonders if Kageyama’s black hair would feel smooth if he cards his fingers through them—

“So,” Kageyama says, folding the book close under his arm. “Let’s start.”

“Um,” Hinata’s mind zips away from him. “Now?”

“No. Next year.” Kageyama scoffs. “Yes. Now.”

Great, he’s a little asshole too. Also, _not great,_ because that so happens to be exactly his type.

When they both stand up, and Kageyama goes to guide them outside with Hinata following after him from behind, it’s only then Hinata notices how very tall Kageyama is than he imagines as they walk in close proximity. Hell, he could barely even reach the guy's shoulders. But then, the real problem starts to set in when he begins to notice how long Kageyama's legs are, the wide strides they take as he leads the way, but what takes the whole cake is the solid view of his muscled back— and okay, he's going to stop right there.

No. He does _not_ want to touch those solid muscles.

... Damn it. He really needs to have some self-control.

In the end, Hinata has to swallow back the raging boner of his thoughts no matter how hard it is which turns out to be _really_ hard like someone's switch the game mode to its highest setting, because Kageyama is already fitting all the criteria of his ideal type just by existing. Sure, it’s going to take more than some self-will to not get distracted by his hot instructor, but he’s willing to try keep his head up.

After all, there’s no way- there’s just _no way_ things can get any worse than this, and there’s no way Kageyama could have been scarier than the previous instructor.

...

So, Hinata might have jinxed himself with the last two statements.

He’d been wrong. He’s horribly, terribly, _awfully_ wrong.

Things can, in fact, get much worse than just being distracted by his hot instructor. 

And, Kageyama turns out not to be just a little bit of an asshole– _no_ , but rather, he’s the definition of it, the whole reason why the word is even invented, and he is definitely much more scary than Nakamichi.

“Will you stop shaking your legs?!” Kageyama groans out for the tenth time since they entered the car which is _ridiculous_ because it hasn’t been, not even _barely_ , an hour yet! They’ve only gotten into the car for like, maybe about five to ten minutes ago, and the car hasn’t also moved a single inch yet– actually, it hasn’t moved at all!

Hinata begins to sputter, before finally casting Kageyama to his side a heated glare because _what the hell_ . Like, sure, having a hot look is okay, it’s good, it's perfectly acceptable, _MORE_ than acceptable actually, but... a hot _temper_ on the other hand? No. Not at all. And Kageyama so happens to be the kind of guy equipped with these two traits.

Hot-looking and hot-tempered. Not a good combination. At all.

“I can’t help it, _stupid,”_ Hinata retorts. “I’m nervous!”

“You’re literally just going to move the car back and forth!”

“You try doing it then!”

Kageyama snaps his head to the side and growls. “I have done it, you stupid dumbass, I’m a _driving instructor_ for god’s sake, so put on your seat belt, turn the key, and step on the clutch already before I change my mind and throw you out!”

At that, Hinata yelps and finally tries to heed what the other man says. The tension in the air dissipates at the sound of seat belt clicking and switched engine, a soft rumbling heard from outside as the key is turned. The seat-belt, the key, it’s both an easy task, something he’s done ten or dozen times. But the clutch, it’s where finds himself at loss.

What is even a clutch? Where is it anyway? Is it the brake thing, Kageyama did tell him to step on it— wait a minute, why are there three pedals, aren’t there supposed to be only two of them? He swears, the last time he peeks into the driver’s section, there had only been–

“This is a manual car.” Kageyama cuts in clean with his gruff voice.

 _Oh._ He’s said that aloud. “Okay… so, um. What’s the one with two then?”

“An auto,” Kageyama simply answers, and by now, Hinata is no longer sensing the anger from him, but a mass of calmness in its place. He breathes in relief. “Step on the pedal at the furthest left. That’s the clutch.”

Hinata nods and starts reaching out to it with his right foot.

 _“No,”_ Kageyama disrupts, effectively stopping him in his tracks. “Use the left foot.”

He scrunches his nose. “But it won’t really make a difference though, will it?”

“It will when you’re going to step on two pedals at once.”

Hinata coos at this, slightly amused that he might be sometime soon, then lines up his left foot against the clutch.

“Now, step on the clutch,” Kageyama instructs further, “Hard.”

“How hard?”

“As hard as you can.”

Hinata does exactly as he’s been told, pressing into the clutch hard enough that his leg begins to shake, but this time, it’s much more uncontrollable, more jerky and _oh god,_ he’s freaking out now–

“I can hear you over-thinking, you know.” Kageyama grunts, and Hinata’s body goes to a complete still. “Stop it, it’s annoying.”

“Easy for you to say…” Hinata mutters before going off into a mumble. Otherwise, he doesn’t make any additional remark.

Kageyama sighs. “It’s normal. The car shaking, I mean. You’ll get used to it. Now, put your hands on the wheel.”

He hears Kageyama instruct, but he doesn’t move. He just sits there, mind befuddled with his anxiety when a pair of big hands is suddenly hovering over his, and starts guiding them on the move to grip both sides of the wheel. It helps, eases his fear a little but it’s also _not_ helping at all because knows that he’s doomed when he hears his heart hammering in his ears and finds himself memorizing the touch, the warmth of those hands.

He has to bite on his lips to stop himself from pulling back those hands when they leave his.

From the corner, he can see Kageyama studying him with a squint before opening his mouth to speak.

Hinata starts sweating profusely, because _oh god,_ of course, with a reaction like that, anyone would find out, even Kageyama is going to find out about Hinata’s attraction towards him now. Then, next, he’s going to be grossed out, and then, he’s going kick him out, _and then,_ he's going yell at him to get out of his face and never see him again—

“You…” Kageyama starts. Hinata holds in his breath. “... Have you ever drove before?”

Hinata blows the air back out, but it’s not in relief.

He slowly drags his eyes to stare into Kageyama’s own blue ones, completely dumbfounded. He waits for a few seconds more though, just to see if Kageyama is joking, but there’s nothing to see save for the evident earnest look Kageyama is giving him with that stupid perfect frown and somehow innocent eyes.

He’s got to be kidding. There’s no way this guy can be that oblivious, can he?

Anyway, what’s up with that stupid question?

 _“Duh,_ obviously not! I mean, I wouldn’t be here, otherwise.” Hinata whines. “Besides, who even drives without a license?!”

“Oh,” Kageyama says, unblinking. “Well, you’d be surprised.”

Hinata pauses for a moment. “.... Was I supposed to?”

“... No,” at this, Kageyama’s face softens a little. “But it’s good to know. That you follow the rules, that is.”

Hinata’s not sure if that’s supposed to be a compliment, but, for once, Kageyama doesn’t have that frown and a scowl on his face even though he still manages to have a perfectly resting bitch face without them. Either way, he doesn’t sound mad, despite the amount of times he’s directed his anger towards Hinata in less than two hours, so, obviously, that has to mean something good… but Hinata tries hard not to think too much about this.

“So…” Hinata clears his throat. His palms are suddenly feeling sweaty now. "What's next?"

He sees Kageyama nod from the side. “Press on the middle brake with your right foot. Don’t let go of clutch yet.”

Hinata pouts. “My left foot is starting to feel tired though.” He's been pressing on the clutch for a while now.

Kageyama deadpans. “Good.”

“Good?!”

“It means you’re doing it right, _dumbass_ , your left foot is supposed to feel tired.”

Hinata just makes a displeased noise at the rude nickname.

The lessons then proceed as Kageyama continues teaching Hinata on the basics. Kageyama shows him the gears, the handbrake, when to release the foot brake, and some more of the other stuff he has to do in order to get the car move.

Thankfully, throughout the whole lesson, Hinata doesn’t get as distracted as he thinks he would have due to Kageyama’s constant reprimanding. Though, there are definitely a count of a few too many times that Hinata nearly gets his head chewed out, but that’s only because he keeps forgetting that he should be gentle when pressing on the brake, and it happens way too much (read: constantly) Kageyama settles that until Hinata could learn how to brake properly, until they don’t get flung forward from their seats for once, their lessons for that day will then come to a stop.

And when the lessons end half and an hour later, Hinata knows he should have felt sluggish, lethargic but he comes out later feeling all alert and refreshed instead, and it’s all thanks to Kageyama who keeps him on his toes.

Honestly, the guy is way too strict, too uptight and way too infuriating that Hinata might actually begin to prefer Nakamichi, his past instructor, more over him. _Hell,_ Kageyama has even said to Hinata’s face that a monkey could drive better than him! And Hinata has to sit there, gaping, because _“That’s not true!”_ and _“You’re totally just exaggerating!”_.

At this point, he’s ready to come back, shriveling and begging at Nakamichi’s feet, but at last, Hinata’s not a quitter and he’s determined to prove to Kageyama that he could drive better than a monkey.

By the end of the class, they're back in the cafeteria where Kageyama has Hinata signing off a paper, then giving him his schedule before he walks away and leaves him in dust. (And of course, it’s so very like him to leave without any word. He didn’t even say a _‘goodbye’_ or a simple  _‘bye’_ just like he couldn’t greet him like a normal human earlier.)

Hinata watches him leave until he’s out of sight.

He sighs, looking down to read the schedule he has for two months ahead.

Two months with Kageyama.

Two months with that good-looking jerk.

He’s not sure if it that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but at least he doesn’t have to see his face every single day and be constantly torn between kissing the hell out of him or tear him to pieces.

 _It’s just for two months,_ he tells himself as he stands up, ready to head outside the building where his mother waits in car.

 _It’s not much of a big deal,_ he goes on, desperately trying not of the possible problems he could run into. _He’s gotten through things worse than this_ . _This? This is nothing._

But, when he slides into the front passenger seat and brings his hands to his face, he lets out what might have been the biggest groan of his life.

He hears his mother giggling from the side. “I take that you had a hard time?”

“Honestly, mom,” Hinata says, face still very much buried in his palms, “I think I’d very much like to get run over by someone right now than running over them.”

His mother rolls her eyes and just tsk-tsks him in response.


	2. is it hot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shaggy gave me 0.1% of his power to complete this next chapter
> 
> also just a quick reminder that this is writing relief fic, so no betas

It barely feels like a week passed by since his first meeting with mister Hotter-than-the-sun Instructor, and well… he’s _dying,_ so to say.

He's been trying not to think about the guy, but it's hard. In just a few hours— not even half of a day, Hinata is already completely infatuated with him after their encounter.

His mind refuses to cooperate with him at all, prefers zooming in and back on the thought of the man, and it has _actually_ started two or three plot-lines on how he and the hot grumpy instructor fall in love and wind up marrying. In one of them, Kageyama asks him out one day for a coffee after a lesson, had been looking at him with a sparkle of interest then that's where they start getting to know each other, when they start seeing each other as Kageyama soon offers Hinata lessons outside of the driving school time. Of course, Hinata would chirp his agreement– _‘but not without a stutter and a blush,’_ he thinks– then they start getting all handsy, more intimate and—

And _see,_ there goes his mind, completely unhelpful and being absolutely a great help. Usually, it's the mind and the heart that's in conflict, but _damn_ Hinata's luck because they both happened to be on the same page in which they're hopelessly attracted to the guy. And it’s funny, given what happened last week when he should feel his attraction dying down after getting reprimanded almost constantly, he almost thinks that he himself might be a masochist.

He gives a loud slap on both of his cheeks, hales in the cold air through his nose then dumps them with the slump of his shoulder.

His eyes trail up to the yellow building in front of him, patterned with colors of creams and greys. At the other side is where his practical driving session would be, where the routes and all kinds of road obstacles still await for him to get through.

 _Time to get this over with_ , and so he moves, an uneasy weight settling at the plane of his feet as he strides into the building, into the cafeteria where he knows the two would later meet. A heavy churn sits at the pit of Hinata’s stomach as he enters, but this time, it isn’t about the instructor, it’s the familiar jitters he gets before his driving class, the ones that speak infinite scenarios on how things can go wrong, and—

He stops walking. His rapid heartbeat knocks him back a few steps, lurching into the back of his throat, stealing his air.

Kageyama is there, sitting in a lonely cafeteria, mug in hand with loads and loads of paperwork laid out in front of him.

Hinata blinks. He glances down at the clock in his phone— he's about forty five minutes earlier than the scheduled lesson, and from what he knows the few times he’s been here, there isn’t usually anyone around in the cafeteria at this hour, and yet, Kageyama is there, real and frowning. He pinches his wrist, just to make sure that he hasn’t completely lost his mind yet where his imagination turns into hallucinations, but the image of Kageyama sitting accompanied by the sounds of paper rustling is still there.

 _Maybe it's the paperwork,_ he croons. Before Hinata could make his presence known, he takes this as a second or two to note on Kageyama’s looks.

No doubt, the man is just as infuriatingly handsome as he was a week ago. Even in his own company, he’s grumpy as ever, brows pinched together along with a jag in his lips as he pores over the scrabbled lines on the papers. The only difference is that there’s also a pair of glasses sitting at the bridge of his nose this time, and he looks… just as _nice_ , but here's what sticks out to Hinata like, well, not a thumb but _close_ to it- it’s the turtleneck prettifying the man’s build. It's greyish blue, tight and taut around the outline of Kageyama's body that Hinata can practically see the muscles on his arms _and_ his obtruding chest.

His face grows hot, and Hinata swears he can feel the steam pouring off from his ears.

It’s only eight in the morning, and his lesson hasn’t even started yet, but he’s already caught up in such a big, big, _BIG_ turmoil. Besides, there’s no way he can focus on driving now, no, not when Kageyama looks like _that_ , looks like he’s ready to rival the god of beauty, and honestly, it’s pissing him off because who gave him the right to even look that attractive? Wearing glasses shouldn’t be hot, and turtleneck is really just turtleneck, but Kageyama somehow effortlessly manages to pull these two ordinary things off and turn it into some sort of an outfit treasure.

And now, Hinata finds himself in a glitch, constantly sliding through the cafeteria doors in and out, in and out until-

“What are you doing?”

He squeaks, looks up to see a pair of eyes piercing into him.

“U-uhm,” Hinata starts, dumbly. “H-h-hi?”

From the table, Kageyama gives him a snort. His attention on him doesn’t last for long as his gaze wanders back to the papers in front of him. Fidgeting, Hinata wonders if this is a cue for him to join.

He goes to join him anyway, taking his seat at the opposite side, and he supposes it’s a good sign that Kageyama doesn’t say a word about it when he does. Curious, he peeks at the papers and sees it’s all tests that he’s been marking. It’s like this then they stayed in silence, submerging into the awkwardness as Hinata just watches Kageyama- _long fingers,_ he notes, _and seemingly calloused_ \- ticking off the questions with his pen.

“You’re here early.” Kageyama says, breaking the quietude.

“Oh!” Hinata jumps, not at all expecting the man to start the conversation. “I… I like to be early! Because, you know… early bird gets the worm?”

Kageyama only hums in response.

It’s at this point where Hinata starts feeling his palms sweat because _god_ , he’s being uncharacteristically awkward and quiet, which says a lot when he’s aware of it too. Usually, he’s the chatty lively one, he knows this, he’s been told this by everyone he’s met. He had no problems shooting up a talk, and sometimes, he’d even ring one up when he bumps into a stranger at the street once he decides that they’re of his interest. Sure, he had some encounters where his nerves take over, but that’s different because the thing here is that, Kageyama _is_ his interest, and yet, he makes Hinata’s tongue heavy as steel.

“So,” Hinata starts, and from the peripherals of his eyes, he sees Kageyama’s hand pausing, and oh god, he has no idea what he’s really going to say- until he blurts out, “how old are you?”

Okay. Maybe that question is a little bit too intrusive and too much to ask. Hinata’s ready to take it back but then-

“I’m twenty four.”

“Wha-?!” Hinata all but says, standing up from his seat with eyes nearly bulging out.

Kageyama stares at him puzzled before it gets crossed with a small look of annoyance. “Is there a problem?”

“Yea- yeah, I do!” Hinata sputters, bewildered. “You’re my teacher!”

“And? What’s the problem with that?”

Hinata puffs out. “The problem is that- you’re, like, younger than me!”

It’s Kageyama’s turn to look surprised now. “Really? I thought you’re a kid who just graduated from high school.”

Alright. Hot or not, that just crosses Hinata’s line, and he bristles, something that Kageyama seems to heed it with a look of amusement. “I do _not_ look like a kid, excuse _you-_ I’ll let you know I’m _twenty five!”_

“Oh,” is all what Kageyama says.

Soon enough, their little mess of a heated talk dissipated once a few people begin to trickle into the cafeteria, effectively putting Hinata to a silence as he quickly sits back down in alarm. The awkwardness surges over them again, except it’s so much more intense this time because Kageyama’s focus isn’t on his papers at all, but on Hinata instead, gaze filled of lingering curiosity that Hinata actually feels it crawling under his skin.

He holds in his breath as he notices Kageyama reaching out his hands- getting nearer, and nearer to his side of the table _then-_ they pick up the papers, stacking them, and bundle the already ticked ones apart from the unmarked. Hinata drops his gaze. He’s not even sure when had he held in his breath.

“So,” Kageyama clears his throat once he’s done with his pile, checking his watch, “I guess we can start a little early.”

“Y-yeah.” Hinata says- doesn’t know what to say- but he nods anyway, and moves to stand up at the same pace Kageyama does.

The air between them feels a little more natural now as Kageyama begins leading them to the car, where the air returns to its much more natural state once they get in the vehicle, commencing the lesson. But it’s not even thirty minutes into the session, Hinata already gets an earful from Kageyama _again_.

“I taught you this last week!” Kageyama hisses. “How can you not remember?!”

“That was just our first class, give me a break!” Hinata groans, then accidentally steps on the brake hard and abrupt that has them flung forward for the _tenth_ time.

Kageyama growls, pinching at his temples. “Clearly you don’t need it at all, since you’re already giving us both a lot of brakes!”

And then, he’s palming at his forehead, and Hinata can physically feel the waves of frustration seeping out from him, rolling all over him, and it feels so strong he actually recoils a little.

“You,” Kageyama grits out through his teeth, “are the worst person I probably ever had to teach.”

Well, that hurts a little bit. Hinata opens his mouth to protest- wants to say that _well, maybe it’s because his teaching sucks, that’s why he can’t move forward-_ but then Kageyama beats him to the punchline. “People usually already handle the first basics well from the get go in their first class, but _you-”_ Kageyama spits, grimacing, “you can barely even get past through the clutch without the car stalling. You don’t even check your mirrors before you start holding the wheels. You’re _doomed_ to fail.”

Okay, now that doesn’t only hurt just a bit. It hurts _a lot_.

Hinata knows that he isn’t doing so well as he’d like, he doesn’t need to hear about it, he doesn’t need to get reminded every ten seconds, so to have it just spewed into his face like that is like spraying hot acid at his pride. He huffs, loosens his grip on the wheels, dejected, but he doesn’t let go of the brake yet. He feels like crying, the tears are there already burning up the back of his eyes, now waiting for the dam to open that’s their cue.

“But...” he hears Kageyama continuing, and he really wants to shut him out, but his attention gets caught because of how the sullen tone suddenly sounds softer than what he’s used to. When he looks, Kageyama seems to be… thinking. Thinking of what to say, perhaps, as if he’s trying to be considerate, making up for his harsh sharp-edged words.

“That’s what I’m here for.” Kageyama says, earnest. “I _will_ teach you to get better, and you are still learning after all, but… I think what’s holding you back are your nerves. Your leg keeps shaking when you press on the clutch. A little shake is fine, but you’re shaking _too much.”_

Hinata doesn’t know what to say. He just blinks, and his eyes feel a little watery but otherwise, no drops have been spilled yet. And strangely enough, relief lifts the weight off of his shoulders, with a small rush of energy and determination running through him.

He doesn’t feel as afraid, he’s calmer, more alert. His grip on the steering tightens, and he breathes in, deeply, then nods. “Okay. I’m ready.”

A look of surprise flashes across Kageyama’s face. But Hinata doesn’t pay heed to it as much, they both don’t say a word as Kageyama returns to his neutral state of sitting and Hinata shifts in his seat for a comfortable adjust of position.

With that, their lessons proceed.

And… it actually goes surprisingly well.

For once, then a few times after, whenever Hinata shifts the gear from parking to the first speed and tries moving the car, the engine doesn’t stall. When he brakes, they don’t get flung. Once he gets the hang of it, Hinata finally gets to the next part of the lesson: where he has to pull the speed to the second gear.

Perhaps, Kageyama really is right after all, Hinata learns, that his nerves may be the ones responsible for holding him back, tossing up his mind up into a hurricane of thoughts that’s only tearing it apart.

Throughout the whole time, Kageyama stays quiet, and truthfully, this makes Hinata even more nervous than he is whenever Kageyama drills a scold into his head- but it’s welcomed. He shoots him a glance a few times, but his expression is often so unreadable, so mysterious, and Hinata’s eyes never fails to get sidetracked, trailing down to the pack of treasure wrapped by the grey-blue fabric instead of focusing on the road. So, he makes a big mistake of looking at Kageyama while following the man’s instruction on pressing the clutch before shifting the gear stick.

Because just when Hinata thinks he’s doing good, that he’s doing great, right as he lifts his feet up from the clutch, he looks over to see Kageyama pushing up his sleeve up high to reveal the solid flesh of his pecs- Hinata squeaks, releases the clutch too early, and in an instant, they’re back to root one as the car stalls again.

Kageyama is quick to reprimand him on the spot. “Oi! You released the clutch too qui-” and his words die down, caught up in a burbling noise once his attention veers to the driver’s seat.

“... Your face is red.”

Hinata feels his face impossibly warming up more.

Kageyama tilts his head even further at his silence. “Is it hot?”

 _‘Yes,’_ Hinata thinks forlornly, _‘yes, your muscles are hot.’_

On impulse, he bangs his head against the steering wheel, groaning aloud.

“Hey-”

“Just give me a minute, _please.”_ Hinata pleads. “And y-yeah. It’s hot.”

They sit there in silence for a few following ticks. It isn’t long until Hinata feels a sudden blast of breeze swishing through his tufts of hair, chilling his nape downwards.

Afterwards, Hinata isn’t sure how he does it, but somehow, he manages to make through the rest of their lesson but thanks to Kageyama’s totally unnecessary sleeve show, his attention is a little whacked, earning himself some more scolding, but he can’t bring himself to complain because some distraction is desperately needed for him now to get his mind off certain things. And of course, it had taken an extra, _extra_ spice of self-will on his side from _not_ getting distracted, especially if he doesn’t want them to end up crashing into a pole.

Once the class finally ends and they’re back in the cafeteria to sign his attendance, he’s ready to flee away, wants to gather his thoughts to compose himself when Kageyama stops him in his tracks, handing him a small piece of paper.

“Here.” Kageyama says with the ever so impeccable frown on his face.

Hinata squints, cocking his head. “Um… What’s this?” He asks, unsure, but takes the paper.

“My number.”

Hinata’s heart suddenly leaps, drumming wildly in his ears as he scans the digits sprawled on the white slip.

“Your number?” He questions, glancing between the paper and Kageyama. “What for?”

“I forgot to give you last week.” Kageyama tells him, “in case you can’t come for our lesson, you can just text me and we’ll reschedule.”

Oh. _Oh._

That perfectly makes sense. Of course, it’s for lessons purpose. Not that Hinata is getting his hopes high up for nothing- oh no, not at all.

“R-right! I’ll keep that in mind! Thank you!” Hinata nods, then gives Kageyama a hasty bow before he finally runs away.

On his way out of the building, he already thinks of considering a request for another instructor, just so he can untangle himself from the thoughts and turmoil around the man whom he’s clearly already harboring feelings for. Honestly, he’s not sure if he wants to laugh or cry at Kageyama’s painful obliviousness, but even then, it’s pathetic, high-strung ridiculous, because though they’ve only met for a whole two times, here Hinata already is, so hung up on him as though he’s known him for years.

As he formulates his plan on requesting for a change, he could say that his reason is because Kageyama is way too strict if the staff happens to ask, and that he’s way too rude, egotistical and an _asshole_ with a stick up his ass.

But then, he thinks about the sudden soft moments, the ones that’s feeding him pieces of hope through snippets- the big hands on his small ones, the effort Kageyama actually tries to erase his doubts, and the upturn of AC when he says it is hot.

He tries not to dwell over this too much, however. Even if he’s an asshole, Kageyama is only trying to be nice in his own way.

Really, it’s futile, he knows. He knows that any attempt of his isn’t worth it, not a dime of his pocket because he knows exactly where this would go. He’s seen this path a countless of times, knows it like the back of his hand- it’s the plot his mind doesn’t think of conjuring; a road paved to nowhere other than hopeless pining, unrequited love, and inevitable heartbreak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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